Monday, October 26, 2009

While living in the UK I couldn't get the View, but here in OZ I can. I also get very up to date Ellen. After watching a few days of them I decided it just wasn't my thing. Ellen is ok, but the constant ad breaks are annoying and I don't feel like she ever gets enough time to dig into a topic. The View is all about digging into topics - but the two Righty/Fundies drive me batshit crazy. I am glad they're sandwiched in between two more sensible types but really - when you have show where one of the panel isn't even sure the Earth is round or flat....you have problems. I've bitched about the stupid that is Sherri before and won't carry on today but damn she is dumb. I just choose not to subject my sensibilities and blood pressure to her and Elizabeth's raving ignorance. YET...

Did you hear it? The alarms going off? Can you imagine?!! Who gives the first sign of "Oh really? Sherri! "And he got married to you?". Having this woman come up to you and tell you the brutal murder of your son was his chosen way of passing in order to open up your heart to care, to then tell him his dead son feels pain at his bad marriage and then...the psychic marries him instead?! That's one hell of a good scam (Or one hell of a dumb guy, but then he was grieving and these types do like to prey upon the grieving.)

I watched that bit and my skin crawled. How utterly vile. Where she says she did research on Levin before their initial interview and no one thinks that would perhaps, maybe, slant her objectivity in a reading??

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Remember the post I did a wee while back about how Husband and I had a bit of a disagreement over the religion class the kids are taught in Australia? How I wanted to exempt Sassy from taking it, but Husband thought learning about bible stores was important so I enrolled her in the class, even though I think it's stupid? Just to be sure about what the classes were all about I even went to talk to the vice principal to find about the curriculum and he said "It's just bible stories. A bit of fun really. Nothing heavy." Well this morning Sassy says to me "We had our religion class yesterday and the teacher said that when God created the heavens and the stars and everything that that was the Big Bang."

Just bible stories huh? I don't remember Big Bang being in Genesis, do you?

It's back to the VP I go with a letter of complaint. If this class is going to meld cosmology and religion then the school should offer the kids a decent science class that is 100% religion free. As O'reilly says "Just present it!"

You know how OReilly goes on about the peace on earth and Jesus was a "love your brother" kind of guy? But he's wrong because Matthew 10 line 34 quotes Jesus clearly as saying: "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." Then he goes on to say how families will be cleaved and blah blah blah.

So, I'm going to complain. What else can I do? Pull her out again? Not going to. I prefer to make her smarter by giving her the counter argument on these topics. Want to know why? Because in the end she'll have a lot more respect me if I do rather than letting her carry on in fairy tales and half truths. So let her learn the twisted information coming from her religion class - let her come home with a mountain of questions. Let her be able to grow up thinking rationally, sceptically and not be afraid to challenge what she's told. Let her know she can come to her family and get answers. then she will be free to make her own choices based on all the facts.

To help her understand, I'm going to let her watch the 1957 Disney movie Our Friend The Atom. I just watched all fives parts on youtube and it's fantastic! Here - watch!!

Then I hope she'll understand the Big Bang stuff a bit easier as it wasn't rocks and galaxies bursting forth fully formed. Granted, part 5 with the radioactive cows and corn i'll have to explain that's not gonna happen because it's way too dangerous.

Monday, October 19, 2009

There is a limit to the defense of "My religion says so!" and that limit includes DIY circumcisions in your kitchen on your four year old son. And the outrageous conciet of the lawyer who says "...he would try to have the case tossed out on constitutional grounds, saying his client’s religious motive negated any criminal intent."

You'd think he'd have figured out he wasn't a dapper hand at this when he'd already botched his own circumcision! What a complete shithead.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

I get very frustrated at the limit of my mind to absorb information. I'm always searching, learning, reading, researching and finding new things to learn about. One subject often spins into another and then another. Eventually, after days of cramming, I will get a headache, my eyes will be puffy and sore, I get flu-like symptoms and I really need to stop but I keep telling myself; one more page. One more page and then I'll go find something else to do. Then I don't. I persist. Until the words on the screen actually begin to warp. At the moment the square of the Firefox window is slightly bowed in the middle. I know rationally it's not, I'm just seeing things. I need to step back and go paint my toenails or something but I really want to be smart. I want to know everything. I want to know what makes it all tick. I want to unravel the world and know all the answers, even if I make myself sick in the process. To be honest...I am making myself sick.

Sad part is, I'm not writing anything down, I'm just eternally skimming information because I've found the limits that my brain has for information absorption. I'm reading books that I have to re-read three times to get the jist of and then it's only a jist and not real understanding. It's so frustrating to think I'm not able to get this stuff, and yet I know I have struggles in these areas - I failed algebra four times and that's not exactly rocket science. I never want to accept that there is a limit to my abilities. I know I'll never do a split - trust me I tried for years, I just don't bend that way - but learning stuff was different! I can learn anything! And in all honestly I genuinely can learn everything, it just takes longer than I think it should.

I'm not thick. I just need a little more time. I need to feel confident I have the actual measure of the information I'm given. I just wish my brain would figure it all out a bit quicker, bnecause I'm impatient and want to carry on learning more stuff.

Also, I love that I can bake a fabulous fruit bread with chocolate chips, but hate that I then eat the bread. I am getting so fat. I must keep telling myself: Just because you can, doesn't mean you should!!

My radio course starts next week. That may be the break I need to pull me out of my torments.

Been craving a cigarette like mad this week and I don't know why. I even have phantom smoke taste at the back of my throat. I've not had a cigarette in three years.

Sassyface is away until Friday on a school camping trip. I miss her and just want it to be Friday already so I know she's safe.

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

You should not talk shit about your partner to their friends. It's common sense.

I want to have a quick dialog about an aspect of relationships that bothers me. I'm sure I'm not alone in this; I know a few couples where usually I've known the man first, and then I'm introduced to his new girlfriend. I have found a few times, and it is rare, but at 37 I can count this happening to a few friends now, the girlfriend (and each one has later become the wife) will spend a lot of the time talking shit about her partner while he sits there in silent embarrassment. He doesn't want to start a fight, he wants his friends to like her as much as he does, and she makes a complete arse of herself by treating him like an accordionist's monkey. I've even seen the woman go so far to actually pick a fight with him over something that happened years ago and then try and earn the sympathies of all of his friends, when in reality everyone hates her for causing their friend pain. She's an outsider. An Extractor. It will be a long seduction to the dark side where she convinces him that his friends aren't really as close as he thinks, gets him to move away, encourages him to join her circles and family and leave his childhood friends behind.

This is husband abuse. It's disrespectful to him and to his friends. It makes everyone feel awkward and uncomfortable and yet no matter how many times you tell him "Man, why is your girlfriend is total bitch to you - what's up with that?!" He'll defend her, and if he tells her about this she'll say "I told you so. They're trying to break us up." and then she'll probably give him a blow job or something to cement in the suggestion of how much better she is for him than they are.

At a cookout or party she may start off by saying how dumb he was at some other party and what an arse he made of himself, she may talk about some humiliating thing that happened between them that he really would rather be kept private. When he tries to stop her, she picks the fight "You're always telling me what me what to do! Why can't you just be nice and stop embarrassing me in front your friends!" and woe how put upon by this big dolt is she? Is she trying to broadcast to all the other women around that really he's worthless and they shouldn't bother to try and steal him from her (Although everyone now wants to save him from her machinations) or is she just so completely insecure that she needs to bully him to feel better about herself and he's so thick that make-up sex after will cure it all? How about both?

I just want to say I cannot stand women who treat their partners like this. I'm not saying it's just women either, I have known men to treat their wives to this kind of embarrassment too and everyone knows it's just him trying to alienate her from her loved ones. I have to wonder about what happens behind closed doors and does she attack him physically as well? Abuse breeds abuse. What can he do to stop this cycle? How can we as their friends support them without alienating ourselves but also not sell our souls to the demon in his bed?

Then they have kids. What kind of parent is she going to be? Head games like that on a child can be so damaging. You can just hear the passive-aggressive arguments already can't you, "I'm sorry your daddy prefers to be with his friends instead of reading you a goodnight story. You're lucky mommy is here to love you." and she'll say this within earshot of a large group of people invited into her home, suddenly feeling very unwelcome, and embarrassed. Watching this train wreck of a family.

It causes me sadness sometimes and yet there's nothing to be done and I can't even speak about it or it will set off a fight between them. I just want them to be happy, so leave it alone. Keep my opinions and feelings about it to myself. Close down. Withdraw. Smile and nod, check my watch.

Then I hug my husband and tell him how much I love him, respect him and adore him.